UMass football to receive record payday to play at Auburn in 2020

FILE - In this April 14, 2012, file photo, the Auburn mascot Aubie performs with the Auburn University Marching Band during their annual spring A Day game at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. Aubie is among the 10 pro and seven collegiate mascots that have been inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame will be built in Whiting, Ind. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, file)

UMass has added another Southeastern Conference opponent to a future football schedule and will get a record payday in the process.

The Minutemen will play at Auburn on Nov. 14, 2020. The Tigers will pay UMass $1.9 million, according to athletic director Ryan Bamford. That’s believed to match the largest contract for a guarantee game between two Bowl Subdivision teams. Georgia is paying Kent State $1.9 million for a game in 2022.

According to FBSchedules.com, which tracks all Division I scheduling, there have been two scheduling payouts of over $2 million but they came with special circumstances.

Florida agreed to pay Colorado State $2 million for a game, but that was part of an agreement made when the Gators hired CSU coach Jim McElwain.

Nebraska paid $2.125 million in 2013 for Southern Miss to move a game that had previously been scheduled in Mississippi to Nebraska.

UMass’ previous high was $1.5 million, received for playing South Carolina in 2016, and the university will get the same amount to play Georgia in 2018.

Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium is the nation’s 10th largest with a capacity of 87,451.

The Minutemen now have seven games set for the 2020 season, including two against SEC teams, as Auburn joins an Oct. 17 road game at Mississippi State on the slate. UMass is also at UConn (Sept. 3), Appalachian State (Sept. 26) and Liberty (Nov. 28), and hosts Troy (Sept. 19) and Army (Nov. 21).

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage